The Phoenix
by Hana-no-yoru
Summary: Mostly AU: L is currently working on the Kira case, in which he meets his match. Fearing the worst for the future, he calls up an old friend who he knows Kira won’t have an effect on…LxLight and a Male OC!
1. Prolouge

Summary: Mostly AU: L is currently working on the Kira case, in which he meets his match. Fearing the worst for the future, he calls up an old friend who he knows Kira won't have an effect on…

Why it's AU: Well, other than the fact that L will not die (Yays!), Light isn't going to play as Kira. He will be suspected though and he will still be chained to L due to suspicion falling on him.

Genre: Adventure/Supernatural/slight Romance and Comedy

Possible pairings/Hints: LxLight, past one-sided OCxL, NearxOC, past OCxBB, MattxMello, dark and twisted past OCxOC and more…

Disclaimer: Let's see, if I owned Death Note, I'd do what any fangirl would do: Lock L and Light in a closet (wearing their handcuffs of course) and see what happens like the little pervert I am.

**Prologue:**

A young man stood at the counter of a half-assed candy store, looking bored and agitated. He was about five foot nine, broad shouldered, lean, and muscular. His handsome face had smooth peach colored skin and looked like a Renaissance sculptor carved it out of marble. He had shaggy brown hair that curled at the base of his neck, and eyes the color of jades, which earned him his name: Jade.

Jade Graves propped his elbow on the counter and leaned his cheek on his palm. His now twitching eyes were lidded and his scowl was deepening. Finally, right when three younger boys walked inside, he opened his mouth wide.

"I'm _bored_!" he whined.

Each of the three boys blinked, but didn't look completely surprised. They knew him well, so they were aware of most of his quirks. The boy in the middle, the blond wearing black, scowled over at Jade while crossing his arms. The two boys on either side of him just looked at the young man with blank looks.

"Yo, Green Eyes!" Mello yelled, using the older boy's nickname. "You open or what?"

Jade looked over at the entrance and brightened slightly. "Well, if it isn't the infamous Whammy prodigies. How you doing today boys?"

Mello walked quickly and got up in the older looking boy's face. "Chocolate. _Now_."

Jade stared down at him blankly. "Dark or milk?"

The fifteen year old scrunched his face in thought. "Dark."

"In the back."

Mello's smile was wide enough to rival The Joker's trademark grin. Jade smirked slightly, amused at how Mello ran like a child towards his beloved chocolate, his hands reached straight out, ready to grab whatever was in sight. Meanwhile, the two other boys walked up to the counter, making his smirk grow into a full out grin.

The auburn haired boy (lacking his usual game module), who wore his trademark goggles and striped shirt, grinned back at him and waved. The shorter, white haired boy, who was clad in white pajamas, stood beside him glanced up at Jade once, but then lowered his gaze, seemingly deciding that the small Optimus Prime in his hand was more interesting than the man. Not that Jade really minded.

"Hey there Matt," Jade offered a high five to the brunette, which was taken full heartedly. "Anything new?"

Matt shrugged. "Not really. Just playing videogames, watching over Mello, making sure the idiot doesn't make a fool of himself—"

"Efforts that aren't all that successful honestly," Near muttered.

"HEY! I heard that!" A screechy yell from Mello came from the back of the store. The boy's head popped out from behind the aisles, directing his heated glare at the two boys, especially Near.

Near glanced back at him dispassionately. "Why should I care?"

Mello stepped out from the aisles and stood tall (with five wraps of chocolate in his arms), glaring down at Near with icy blue eyes. Near stared blankly back with emotionless, silver-black orbs.

"So, yeah the usual," Matt finished with Jade, ignoring the exchange between Mello and Near.

Jade chuckled, "That's great." He eyed Mello and the chocolate in his arms. He leaned over to Matt to whisper, "So…is Mels on PMS or what?"

Matt looked over at his best friend and chuckled. "He's just getting his weekly fix, with _me_ paying of course." He crossed his arms, his face serene as he stared at Mello.

"Okay, that explained why you two are here," Jade scratched the back of his head in thought. "But why is Near here?"

Jade didn't see, but Near seemed to tense when he heard that. Mello noticed this and smirked, having also hearing Jade's question.

"Why he wanted to see _you_, Jade. I thought it was obvious," he laughed maliciously.

Near's eyes narrowed, showing a rare anger and fury. "_Shut up, Mihael._"

Mello's smirk didn't falter, despite the fact he wanted to yell that he wanted to be called Mello, not by his real name. The fact that he got a reaction from the other boy was enough to allow his real name to be said just this once.

Jade got out from behind the counter and stood between the two boys, putting both of his hands out to prevent a fight. With an easy going smile, he looked from one boy to the other.

"Come on guys," he said, slightly nervously. "Not in the store at least. My boss will be pissed with me."

Near looked up at the older boy, his expression now calm and emotionless, despite that wasn't what he truly felt. Jade knew that though he was an expert of hiding his emotions by a mask, that still didn't mean the boy didn't feel anything.

"I could leave, if my presence is distressing you," Near said softly.

Jade's eyes bugged out and he started waving his hands frantically. "Near, you aren't bothering me. I was just curious because it's rare that you leave Whammy's and go out, at least without a reason."

The younger of L's two successors (by one year) lowered his gaze again and went back to fiddling with his toy. "I just wanted to come," he answered extra softly.

Near almost jumped when he felt hands ruffle his curly hair. He looked up and was surprised to see Jade smiling tenderly down at him, his namesake eyes seeming to shine as bright as his smile.

"I'm happy you came. It's great to see you finally out of the room and out among us. Sorry if we humans aren't as interesting as your puppets and robots," Jade added, voice laced with good-natured teasing.

Near allowed himself to wear a small, almost unnoticeable smile, while twisting a finger around a lock of his hair. "That's all right. I prefer you to most human beings anyway."

This made Jade laugh as he ruffled the boy's hair fondly. Near was one of his favorites among the Whammy orphans, right up there with Mello and Matt. A sentiment that both he and L shared. That was after all, the main reason why the detective had chosen these three as his possible successors. Strangely enough, Matt had declined the offer to be L's successor (only Jade had a clue as to why), but Mello and Near stayed in the race and were both doing pretty well. The two of them would make a good team…if they got over their differences of course.

A familiar ring tone rang throughout the store, making Jade's eyes narrow slightly. Only one person would call on _that_ phone…

Jade spouted out a quick apology to the three boys and ran to the office at the back of the candy store, door slamming shut. Once he was inside, Jade reached inside his back denim pocket and took out a sleek black Razor cell phone, not bothering to look at the caller I.D.

"What's up?" Jade said, stone faced.

A male voice answered, _"Jade, I need you."_

The young man chuckled teasingly. "Why L, I'm flattered. I guess what they say about absence making the heart feel fonder is no shit."

L sighed (Jade could picture the crouching man squeezing the bridge of his nose), _"You know what I mean."_

"Yeah, but you can't blame me for trying."

Jade sat in a leather chair in front of a desk and computer. He could already tell that this was going to be a long conversation, and would probably need one big web search.

"_Do you know which case I'm working on right now?"_

"Who in the world doesn't? L, the Kira case will probably go down as one of the most freaky murder sprees in history." Jade smirked slightly, "To have the three greatest detectives in the world working on it isn't all that shocking."

A slight snort, _"Now _I'm_ flattered. Seriously though Jade. This case has gotten more…complicated then I expected it to be. As much as I hate to admit it, I am not even 80 percent sure that I will make it out this time…"_

At this, Jade's eyes widened in panic. L? Die? No, that wasn't possible. The Kira case can't be _that_ dangerous…

Right?

"_You know I wouldn't call you unless it was serious enough, especially since I'm in dire need of your special…_condition._"_

Jade didn't even hesitate. "I'll book the next flight to Japan and be there as fast as I can."

"_I'll hold you to that." _With that, L hung up.

Jade closed his phone and logged into his boss's computer to order the tickets online. The fat old man wouldn't even notice that it was hacked by his employee.

He smiled bitterly to himself. _So much for boredom._


	2. Chapter 1

Summary: Mostly AU: L is currently working on the Kira case, in which he meets his match. Fearing the worst for the future, he calls up an old friend who he knows Kira won't have an effect on…

Why it's AU: Well, other than the fact that L will not die (Yays!), Light isn't going to play as Kira. He will be suspected though and he will still be chained to L due to suspicion falling on him.

Genre: Adventure/Supernatural/slight Romance and Comedy

Possible pairings/Hints: LxLight, past one-sided OCxL, one-sided (?) NearxOC, past OCxBB, MattxMello, dark and twisted past OCxOC and more…

Disclaimer: Let's see, if I owned Death Note, I'd do what any fangirl would do: Lock L and Light in a closet (wearing their handcuffs of course) and see what happens like the little pervert I am.

**Chapter 1:**

As he sat in the back of the black limousine, Light Yagami couldn't believe that this was happening to him. He refused to believe it. It was too ridiculous, too silly, and too…_weird_! Yet, he couldn't escape the facts: this was happening to him.

His life officially became Hell on earth.

He glanced over at the man who sat next to him, a.k.a. the source of his misery. He was a pale, lithe man who looked younger than his actual age (not that Light knew his age of course, but he was guessing the man was over 20). He had dark circles under his wide dark eyes and unkempt black hair, and was wearing baggy clothes that looked too big for him, but no shoes (not even socks). He sat in a crouched position that hunched his back and stared blankly ahead, silently directing his driver, Watari to the airport.

"Ryuuzaki, I can understand you suspecting me of being Kira," Light ground out. "But does it have to go _this_ far?"

He lifted his wrist, which had a handcuff around it. It was connected to a long chain that connected another cuff, which was on Ryuuzaki wrist. Ryuuzaki glanced blankly at Light, then at the chain, and then back at the teenage boy.

"Yes," was his monotone reply.

Light rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, staring out his window. "I could have stayed back at headquarters you know."

"That would have been too dangerous, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki said. "Especially when the possibility of Light-kun being Kira rising five percent almost every day."

The teenage boy's sepia eyes twitched as he groaned softly. Usually he would yell back on how he wasn't Kira, but it was too early in the morning. He just resolved to glaring out the window and muse about the last couple of months.

It had all started with the death of a man in the Kanto region, who had been holding people hostage in a building. His death was ruled as a heart attack and was shrugged off, despite the fact that he had no history of heart problems. Since the act helped the hostages escaped, no one really cared about the man's death.

Then, within a week from the first death, fifty-nine prisoners had died of heart attacks.

Coincidence? Japan didn't think so.

Hence forth, Kira's twisted mission to "cleanse the world and create a Utopia" had begun. It had at first seemed reserved to only Japan, but then moved worldwide. Kira started attacking any small town criminal, serial killer and rapist that could be detected through any worldwide database, including the FBI, and even Massad.

The case had gotten so intense that it attracted one of the greatest detectives in the world: L.

Who Light still couldn't believe was sitting next to him, and accusing him of being Kira. Well, okay, the accusations have dulled over the past few weeks, but still, they were there. Ryuuzaki, a.k.a. L, had accused him of being Kira under the pretense that Light had the means of access to criminals, since his father was Chief of police, had a similar mentality to Kira and also because his father was part of the special Task Force that had been created to catch Kira.

Looking at all that, Light could understand a little bit why L had suspected him, but he had already proven not to be Kira and always adamantly denied it. True Light thought that the world could do without a few criminals, but to kill every single one? The thought alone was impossible, and Light was begrudgingly aware of that. Frankly, he had a good idea that L _knew _that he was innocent. The man probably did this entire "chain and drag" thing to mess with Light's head.

Now that Light thought about it, L had been acting strange lately. He seemed more…paranoid than usual, not to mention a little melancholy. Light had a good idea about that also. The Kira case had gotten stale over the past few weeks. Kira's bloodlust seems to have skyrocketed and the Task Force hadn't gotten even close to a solid suspect, not even with Light's recent help. That frustrated Light to no end, and he was certain that L was even more frustrated, considering the man had such a track record in catching perpetrators. There was no such thing as a perfect murder, because the murderer is always caught—if not in this century, then at least the next.

So, where the hell is Kira? That was the question that hung over every person's head, in Japan and in other countries.

Which led to another question, at least in Light's mind: Who is this mysterious person who L is so anxious to have in the Task Force?

Light turned around to look at the man he called Ryuuzaki. "So, who is this guy anyway?"

He didn't really expect an answer. L was really secretive about certain things in his past. So, Light was surprised not by what he heard, but the fact that he was hearing it.

"He is a man I've worked with before on special cases," L replied, still staring into space. "He has a certain _skill_—if you want to call it that—that I've realized would be of use in the Kira case."

Light raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What kind of skill?"

L shared a glance with Watari, who was also thinking of the young man in question. Then he looked over at Light, smiling slightly.

"You'll find out soon enough."

---

Jade Graves walked out of the airport, a brown leather bag slung on his shoulder. Through a pair of shades, he searched the heads of the crowd for two familiar men, but came up with nothing the first few times. Then he spotted a familiar black limousine and a familiar old man step outside of it.

He smiled and ran over to the man, as eager as a child.

"Watari, you old devil!" He tackled him into a hug, almost making Watari fall over. "I haven't seen you in…in—God, I don't even know how long anymore!"

Despite him almost losing his balance, Watari smiled down at the boy hugging him and patted him on the shoulder. "It's great to see you too, Jade."

"Still as energetic as always," came a smooth, deadpan voice.

Jade felt his heart jump at the voice. He hadn't seen _him_ face-to-face in so long… He turned around and (if possible) his grin grew.

"Panda bear!" he exclaimed as he ran to hug L around the torso.

L's eyes twitched in annoyance. Not because of Jade's embrace, but because of the use of his old nickname, which only Jade would use on him. He twitched even more when he heard Light's snicker from behind him. There was no doubt in his mind that the teenager was close to—as the expression goes—laughing his ass off.

"Jade, what have I told you about using that little codename of yours?" L scolded.

"Oh, but it's so cute on you," Jade let him go and grinned up at him, waving his index finger in mock scolding. "You know, I wouldn't have come up with the name if you listened to my advice and actually slept every once in a while."

"And since when do I ever listen to you?"

"Touché."

Meanwhile, Light observed the new guy, who had called L such an embarrassing name (which he was still silently cackling to himself about). It seemed like this guy and L had some history, possibly during childhood. Light had kind of expected the guy to be an L-look a like, both in looks and personality. He honestly didn't expect someone so…so…what was the word he was looking for?

Jade looked past L and noticed Light and walked up to stand in front of him. He blinked a few times, looking up and down at the teenager, trying to size him up. When he was done his eyes lidded with a strange look in his eyes that made Light shudder unpleasantly. The other boy's smirk made it worse.

"Well _hello_ gorgeous," he said with a voice that was as smooth as velvet.

Light twitched, his eyes bugging out. "E-excuse me?" he stammered in English.

Jade's smirk didn't falter as he ran an index finger down Light's cheek. "Tell me hot stuff, would you like to take a walk to the dark side with _me_ as your guide?"

The teenage genius blanched. _Is he…Is he _flirting_ with me?! _Realizing this, Light started to stammer out responses that sounded something like "What the hell?" and of course "Hell no, perv!"

Behind them, Watari chuckled, murmuring how Jade hadn't changed, and L's twitching seemed to worsen. The detective quickly walked over to intercept Jade getting closer to Light and directed an irritated glare at the young man. Though Light would never admit it, not even if he was tortured painfully, he was grateful for L's intervention.

"Jade, I'm going to have to ask you to stop," L demanded with a steady voice. "Right. Now."

Jade raised an eyebrow, and then noticed the chain that connected L and Light. "Oh, I get it," he winked up at L. "Don't worry, I'll keep my hands off. I'm no home wrecker."

L remained unresponsive, having figured out what Jade meant but didn't really care; however, Light looked bemused.

"Home wrecker?" he repeated quietly in Japanese, then realized what the man meant. Then he went into a fury. "Wait—no! Hell no! Even if I was gay, which I'm _not_ (this was directed at Jade, who just shrugged), I would never be…_attracted_ to _him_!" He directed an accusatory finger at L.

L glanced over at Light with an unreadable gaze. "The feeling is mutual, Light-kun," he replied softly, shifting to Japanese.

He looked over at Jade, "Let's get going, Jade. You have a lot of work ahead of you. Oh, and you might want to start speaking in Japanese from now on."

When the two of them went inside the limo, Jade leaned over and whispered to Watari in English, "The men doth protest too much, methinks."

"Indeed," the man replied, taking the new passenger's bag and putting them in the trunk.

Jade bit his lip nervously. "Watari, is Kira really this…bad that L had to call me in?"

His old mentor and teacher shifted a glance to him, one that made Jade shiver with slight fear. Watari didn't reply, but the look said it all. When he stopped looking at him, he gestured for Jade to get inside, which he did. Watari then got in the front seat to drive back to the hotel slash headquarters.

As the drive went on, Jade silently looked out the window with blank eyes.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I think people would know by now that I owned Death Note.**

A/N: I want to thank MistressofTime1218 for complimenting Jade. I really am trying hard to make this OC good, since male OCs are so rare. I will warn you though, he has this power that's kind of complex and it might either confuse you or just turn you off from him.

Note: This story takes a whole different perspective on the Death Note storyline, so things from the show will be different. (Please don't hurt me :|)

Be sure to review and give honest, yet constructive opinions (especially about Jade).

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

In a dimly lit room, the shadow of a man stood in front of a television screen. On the screen were the images of an old man, and three young men at an airport. The old man and one dark haired young man were two people who filled the man with hate (especially the latter), but the teenage boy on the handcuffs filled him with a familiar happiness and satisfaction.

That new male though, the one who was currently hugging L like a long lost friend, made him curious.

Just who was he…?

A creature hovered over to look over the man's shoulder. It had gray face, yellow eyes with a red iris, and black feathery wings on its back. Its grin was eternal and creepy looking, but the human man didn't mind its presence at all. He had grown used to it over the last few months.

The creature hummed when it looked at the new guy on the screen. It couldn't help but feel a little surprised when it looked at the space above the new guy's head, yet it didn't feel irritated—just more curious.

"Who's he?"

The man crossed his arms across his chest. "I'm not sure. Probably an ally of L's."

It laughed, "If he's an ally of L's, it could mean game over for you, _Kira-sama_."

"Don't call me by that awful nickname, Ryuk," the man scoffed. "I'm no killer. I am merely an exterminator of the filth that rots this world."

Behind his back, Ryuk's grin widened as he cackled to himself—a sound that was like a harsh cough. The Shinigami didn't even bother to correct the man. If he wanted to continue living in his denial, then that was fine with Ryuk. It just made the situation all the more fun.

"And anyway," the man continued, a smirk slowly growing on his face. "There's no way L's backup is going to keep me from what I want." At this his eyes narrowed at Light's face, which looked irritated at being flirted with by the man called Jade, "I will get rid of him in a flash. All I need to do is have 'Misa-Misa' do her part."

Ryuk's grin seemed to grow even more, if possible. He glanced back at Jade, who was currently teasing L and Light, and his eyes glowed red with glee.

Finally, things were going to get more _interesting_.

* * *

Inside the car, Jade had stayed silent throughout the drive, just staring blankly out his side window through his sunglasses. L sat next to him, in his usual posture, staring out into space, his face unreadable. Light sat on the other side of L, observing Jade with suspicion.

_Just who is this guy?_ Light kept thinking. _He isn't anything like L, or Watari for that matter. In fact, I'd say he was…normal—in both looks and personality, even if he is a bit of a flirt. _His eyes narrowed somewhat as he looked more closely at the other man._ But no…there is something about him that isn't normal, I just know it._

Jade rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a slight tingling. He looked back and blinked when he saw Light staring at him. He removed his shades and hung them on top of his head, smiling brightly at the boy.

"See something you like…Light-kun, was it?" Jade asked in Japanese.

Light mentally twitched, feeling he was being flirted with again, but nodded politely. "Light Yagami, and you are…?"

"I'm Jade Graves," he replied with a chuckle. "And yes, that is my real name. Yeah, my mom wasn't the most creative woman in the world."

Light hummed, looking at Jade more closely. _I see, because of his eyes…_

"So what can you do?" he asked. "Ryuuzaki didn't exactly specify the nature of your 'special skill.'"

Jade shared a brief side-glance with L, and then laughed nonchalantly, waving his hand back and forth. "What makes you think it's so special? Honestly L tends to exaggerate. It's nothing, really."

Light's eyes narrowed. "I don't believe so. You act like you're normal and average, but somehow I get the feeling that it's the complete opposite with you. That your external personality is just a mask you put on to fool people into thinking you are harmless, when in reality you are possibly deadly. After all, L wouldn't compliment on your 'talents' if they were something normal."

With a thumb on his mouth, L glanced at his friend to see his reaction, but Jade didn't do anything. In fact, his face became completely stone faced, enough to rival L's own expression. His green eyes regarded Light with emptiness, so it was hard to read into his thoughts. L could tell that Jade was impressed with the boy's deductions though.

Jade smirked at Light appraisingly, chuckling. "Clever boy." He looked at L, "L, you have to tell me where you found this kid. I want one of my own."

Light smirked in return, accepting the compliment. "Sorry Graves-san, but I am one of a kind," his eyes narrowed slightly. "And I can't be bought."

The man sighed, feigning disappointment. "Easy come, easy go."

L glanced slyly at Jade. "Don't you have enough 'toys' back home?"

"Well, yeah, but they aren't as fun, nor are they good conversationalists," Jade raised a sly eyebrow at his old friend. "And I certainly can't touch M, M and N. One: the first two would kill me if I even went near either of them with impure intentions, and two: you'd destroy me if I even tried to get to N, even if he became the age of consent."

"I see, so home's just one big bore now, huh?"

"Yep. You have no idea how much your call made my day."

L's eyes widened a little, creating a look of innocence. "…Was that sarcasm?"

Jade burst out laughing, putting his arm around L's shoulders. "You have no idea how great it is to be back in the game with you L."

"…Is that more sarcasm?"

Light rolled his eyes, seemingly in exasperation, yet he couldn't help but feel some kind of warmth in his chest when he saw L interact with Jade. Granted, the man was as monotonous as ever, but there was also a hint of playfulness as he and Jade went on with their banter—perhaps even a ghost of a smile. Knowing the man for just a few weeks, Light had rarely seen L so happy, or as happy as he'd show anyway. It always seemed as if he was some kind of sugar eating robot that was plugged in at night, working cases like they were going out of style. To see him show emotion reminded Light that L was human just like him.

This made Light feel…nice, for some reason.

Suddenly, the vehicle came to a stop.

"We're here," Watari announced.

Jade paused in his banter with L and looked outside his window to see a tall, fifty or so story high building that surely cost a fortune to build and stay in. He gaped at it open mouthed for a few seconds and then beamed, his eyes glimmering.

"Still hoarding in the dough I see," he commented dreamily.

"Detective work does have its benefits, as you only know so well," L replied quietly as they all stepped out of the car. As Jade took his bags from Watari, L looked over at him. "Speaking of which, how are N and M doing?"

"They're good, but their relationship hasn't improved."

"Ah—that's…expected."

Light couldn't help but wonder whom N and M were, but he decided not to ask. If he did, the most likely result would be no answer from Watari, Jade or L. That was fine, he thought. He probably didn't need to know the answer anyway. Light allowed himself to be tugged into the building after L. Watari and Jade followed closely behind.

* * *

The man, better known as Kira to the world, was sitting down on a leather armchair. Both a lamp and a turned on television dimly lit the room, but his face was still mostly hidden by shadows. In front of him was a wooden coffee table that had an open black notebook and a cell phone right next to it. The man glanced briefly at the TV, and then picked up the cell phone, dialing a number.

When someone picked up the phone, he demanded, "Play the tapes."

* * *

Jade raised an eyebrow as he entered the main room that had the Task Force in it. There was one man who looked like the Japanese version of a disco king, what with that odd afro, who regarded Jade warily, and there was a shorter man standing next to him. Then there was the tall Japanese man who had a buzz cut, and next to him, a younger man who had eyes like a devoted puppy (a trait that made Jade smile softly; how cute). Then there was another man who looked older than the rest of them, and had Light's eyes; Light's father most likely.

He leaned towards L and whispered, "This is the Task Force?"

L nodded and directed his eyes to the rest of the detectives. "Gentlemen, this is my associate Jade Graves. He will be assisting us on the Kira case."

Jade lifted a hand, smiling warmly. "Yo."

The four older men blinked at him, but nodded and sent their own little greetings. The younger guy smiled at Jade enthusiastically, (_Aw_, Jade thought with a smile). He went right up to Jade and bowed down.

"Hello, Graves-san! My name is Touta Matsuda, but you can call me Matsuda."

"Matsuda huh?" Jade murmured, and then he patted the man on the head.

Matsuda blinked at the odd man, who seemed to be petting his head like a dog. But before he could open his mouth and ask about it, Aizawa interrupted.

"Sorry to have to cut introductions short, but look," he cried, pointing at one of the TVs that were in the room.

Apparently it was a transmission from Kira that was being shown on a program called Sakura TV. At first it seemed to be a hoax, but then "Kira" predicted that a newscaster on another channel, who had talked badly of Kira, would be killed. When L had commanded that a second TV be put on the channel where the man was supposed to die, there was a collective gasp in the room (save from L, Jade and Watari) when they found that the target had been killed.

Jade raised an eyebrow as "Kira" continued his/her transmission. "Funny, I didn't think Kira was so sensitive to insults."

L's face remained impassive, but his eyes narrowed with suspicion, already drawing up a conclusion. "Indeed. In fact, I was under the impression that he wouldn't care for petty opinions, unless they were from those who are trying to hunt him down."

Light nodded, his eyes narrowing and his mind racing. "It could be a different person, only with the original's power."

L put a thumb to his lips, looking up at Light. "Perhaps…"

When the Task Force witnessed another death that "Kira" predicted, it became too much for Ukita, one of the detectives. Someone had to stop that maniac on TV. He growled angrily and ran out the door, presumably to his car. Aizawa, who had the same idea, walked forward to follow him, but L grabbed his arm.

Aizawa glared down at the crouching man. "Ryuuzaki, let me go!"

"Let Jade assist Ukita-san, Aizawa-san," L ordered, casting a glance towards Jade.

Jade replied with a gaze of his own and nodded at the silent command. He turned around and ran out the door to catch up with Ukita. The Task Force watched him go, hoping that he and Ukita would get there in time.

Light looked down at L. "Are you sure about Jade, Ryuuzaki?"

L regarded Light with a strange grin. "Jade is very capable with his abilities, Light-kun."

The teenage boy resigned to watch the TV, his fists clenched at his side.

* * *

In the car, Jade was silently sitting in the passenger seat while Ukita maneuvered through the streets to get to Sakura TV. During the rough ride, Jade was mentally preparing himself for the enemy he might have to face.

He couldn't help but feel a little unsure about himself. He had been fairly certain that he could handle whatever Kira threw at him, but now Jade wasn't so sure. He had never dealt with the likes of Kira before, so the risks were greater than with any other past situation. Still, despite any doubts, Jade was determined to see this through, for L's sake.

When the car skidded in front of Sakura TV station, Ukita was the first to go out, with Jade following right after him. Ukita tried to open the glass doors to the studio, but it was no use. Jade tried banging on the door, trying to get the receptionist to open it, but the man inside refused to do it. His employer had probably ordered that.

Ukita cursed and took out his gun, aiming for the door. Jade stood back, since he didn't have a gun. Just when the Japanese man was about to pull the trigger…

_B-bump!_

He felt a sudden pain through his chest, one that prevented him from breathing. When he collapsed, Jade went to his side trying to calm him down.

"Hey man, take it easy," he said. Jade saw Ukita's belt, recognizing Watari's invention, and tried to press the metal button that would contact the old man, but Ukita grasped his hand, mouthing his last word.

_Kira…_

When the man's eyes closed and his body went lax, Jade once again tried to press the button on the man's belt. But then…

_B-bump!_

Jade grasped his pained chest, gasping for air. He then collapsed on top of Ukita, his eyes dilating and his last thought being, _Ah crap!_

Meanwhile, the Task Force was watching the two men's deaths from a camera in front of Sakura TV. A stunned silence filled the room until Aizawa let out a furious yell and ran for the door.

Without turning his head, L commanded, "Stop right there, Aizawa-san."

"You expect me to allow a comrade to die and not do anything about it," the man exclaimed.

"Getting yourself killed isn't something I'd call 'doing something about it,' Aizawa-san," his boss replied coldly. "Just stay here, and trust me."

Aizawa scowled. "You expect us to trust you, when you sent one of your own to his death?"

At that comment, Light noticed L's hands grip his knees with a tight grip, but the man's eyes didn't waver from the screen where both Jade and Ukita's corpse lain.

L's eyes narrowed, focusing on Jade. _Come on, Graves. Don't play around…_

The woman who had filmed the deaths in front of Sakura TV suddenly gasped. The sound got the attention of the Task Force and everyone watched to see what was happening. What they saw made their eyes widen with shock, and a little bit of fear. Only Watari and L looked calm, if not a bit relieved (or as relieved as L would allow himself to look in public).

"_Is one of them _moving_? He _is_! One of the men who just collapsed is getting up!"_

Eyes wide, Light took a few steps back from the television, his mouth open wide. "No…no way," he breathed.

L looked up at Light, his mysterious smile adorned once again. "Yes, Light-kun. Yes way."

* * *

At first there was darkness, and then he opened his eyes.

Jade sat up, gasping for air to go through his lungs. He clutched his chest, which was still aching from his attack, from Kira no doubt. He shakily got on his feet and took a steady breath of air. When he felt that the ache in his chest was tolerable, and got his breathing under control, Jade looked down and saw Ukita. His green eyes softened with sympathy as he leaned down to close the man's still open eyes respectfully.

"Sorry dude, only one of us survives this round," he said softly. "But hey, you're in luck. I hear that Heaven gives grand welcomes to those who show examples of courage," with a small smile, Jade gave the dead man a final salute.

He stood upright, staring up at Sakura TV, recalling the pain in his chest before he died.

_So, that's what it feels like to die of a heart attack. Nice move Kira, I'll give you that_, Jade smirked cockily to himself, his green eyes gleaming with determination. _But you're gonna have to get a lot more creative with me old chap._

Without wasting anymore time, Jade grabbed hold of Ukita's gun and fired at the glass door. Taking care to avoid the glass, he made his way through Sakura TV to stop the transmission and get back the tapes from "Kira." As to be expected, the receptionist too shocked by his revival to stop him.

* * *

Kira stood up from his seat, nostrils flaring and eyes glowing red with fury as they stared at the live image in front of Sakura TV. From behind him, Ryuk silently cackled to himself, knowing something that Kira didn't know, but not willing to tell, not even for all the apples in the world. What would be the fun in telling, after all?

Kira picked up his phone and dialed Misa's number. When she picked up, he started yelling at the girl.

"You idiot! I thought I gave you specific orders to kill anyone who approached the station!"

"_M-Misa did, Kira-sama. She wrote down the names like you ordered her to!"_

"Then why did one of L's men get up and start walking around after dying?!"

The girl gulped nervously on the other side of the phone. _"Misa doesn't know, sir. B-but Misa does know something about the strange man's numbers."_

Annoyed, Kira rolled his eyes. "Oh really? And what is that?"

"_His numbers sir are…strange. They didn't move at all, with each step he took. They were frozen in place. And when he died, they went blurry for a few minutes, and then were back when he started to wake up."_

His eyes narrowed. _Frozen numbers…? Can there be such a thing?_

Ryuk smirked to himself, laughing silently. _Seems like L has added another chess piece to the game. Wonder how it will play out…_

Oh yes. Things were _definitely_ going to get interesting from now on.


	4. Chapter 3

**Note: Aw, some NearxJade fluff in the beginning, and then an in depth look at Jade's power. I hope you'll enjoy it.**

**And please review! I need to get constructive criticism on Jade and this story! **

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

Matt glanced away from his video game briefly to glance at his best friend Mello, who was currently glaring across the playroom at a familiar white haired boy. He sighed, folding his DS and putting it on his side. There was no way he would be able to concentrate with Mello distracting him.

"What's wrong Mels?" he sighed.

Mello scowled. "He knows something."

Matt quirked an eyebrow. "Knows what?"

"Where Jade is," Mello replied sourly. "He is the only one out of the three of us who was calm when we found out Jade had left this morning."

"So what?"

Mello rolled his eyes to the ceiling. Matt wasn't stupid, but sometimes he could be a little dense.

"So, if Jade is gone, without a word, then that means it has to do with L," he replied softly.

Matt blinked, and then smiled lightly. "And because _Near_ knows something to do with L, you are feeling out of the loop."

The blonde scowled, not answering. He stood up from the floor and stomped over to Near, who was currently doing his favorite puzzle, the one L had given to him. Sighing softly, Matt stood up and followed Mello, also slightly curious about Jade's whereabouts. The white haired boy didn't look up, or stop doing his puzzle, but he knew that the other boys were there.

"Hello Mello, Matt," he greeted softly. "Is there something either of you two need?"

"Where's Jade, Near?" Mello demanded, not beating around the bush. "Is he with L, working on the Kira case, or not?"

Near paused, still not looking at either of them, and then began toying with a lock of his hair.

"What makes you think _I'd_ know?"

Mello's eyes narrowed with spite. "Because you always do. You're the one who's around Jade the most. You always have clear access to information to L and specifics on his cases, all because of your connection with Jade."

Near picked up his head slightly, glancing at Matt and Mello. "Well, since you two are so desperate to know, yes—Jade is in Japan. And yes—he's working on the Kira case."

Matt's eyes widened under his goggles. "Does that mean the case has become too dangerous? L only calls on Jade when it is a complete emergency." He felt fear when he had a sudden thought. "What if Jade doesn't come back?"

Mello glared at his rival, silently demanding an answer. Near stared up at him, not moving from his position. Matt waited a few minutes, hoping that the two of them wouldn't start killing each other. Not because he was a pacifist or anything. He just didn't want there to be a mess in front of witnesses.

"If you look in Jade's files, in the Whammy database," Near said. "Then you will find that his return is unquestionable."

"But those files are encrypted," Mello said.

"Yeah, they're practically impossible to read without the code," Matt added. "Believe me, I've tried."

The albino boy twirled his hair around his finger. "I'm sure you'll manage."

Mello's eyes narrowed slightly before looking to Matt. He put his hand on the gamer's shoulder and nodded to the direction out of the playroom. Near watched as they walked away, and then went back to his puzzle, his motions moving slower and less enthusiastic than before. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, recalling the day before, after Jade got L's phone call.

_-Flashback-_

_When Jade walked out of the office in the back of the store, he smiled down at the Wammy prodigies. Matt and Mello didn't seem to notice, but Near had seen the nervous twitch of Jade's lips. The young boy's eyes narrowed with suspicion._

_Something was wrong._

"_Sorry guys," Jade said. "But I'm going to have to cut this visit short. Something just came up, and my boss said I had to close shop immediately. So, whatever you're going to buy, it's best to pay for it now before you leave."_

_Matt paid for Mello's chocolate and the two of them walked out of the shop. Near made his move to follow them, but lingered a little in front of the door, not turning around to face Jade._

"_It was L, wasn't it?"_

_Near didn't see, but Jade's eyes widened briefly as he felt a small sense of guilt. There was no way he could lie to Near, no matter how hard he tried._

"_Yeah."_

"…_The Kira case?"_

_Sigh. "Yep."_

_Sighing softly, Near turned his head to look over at the man over his shoulder. His eyes were narrow and demanding, taking Jade aback._

"_You better be careful," he commanded in a cold voice. "Some day, you might not come back from one of L's assignments."_

_Jade smiled at the boy easily. "I'll always come back Near. It's part of my nature."_

_Near's gaze was still frozen. "Nothing is permanent, not even that 'nature' of yours."_

_The man laughed and walked over to the small boy, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Jade leaned his forward, while Near leaned his head back so they could stare into each other's eyes._

"_Near, I swear on my eternal life that I will return back here once I help L with this case."_

_The boy's eyes softened. "Along with L?"_

_Jade smiled, ruffling his hair. "Of course with L," he winked one sparkling eye. "The two of us are an unstoppable team. Not even some odd mass murderer with a god-complex can tear that apart. We won't lose the game, Near."_

_Near blinked up at one of the men he admired—probably more so than L—and sighed. With a brief look at the Optimus Prime in his hands, Near held it out for Jade, who blinked at the toy, bemused. Near took hold of one of Jade's hands and put the toy robot in his open palm, forcing Jade's fingers to close around it._

"_A reminder of your promise," he explained. "Give it back when you return."_

_The man chuckled and stood up straight, still staring down at the boy. He winked, giving the kid a salute._

"_Will do, sir," he joked._

_As Near started for the door again, he smirked back at Jade. "Be sure not to get reckless. I know how you can get."_

_Jade pouted slightly. "What about L? Don't you want me to relay any advice to him?"_

"_Other than stay alive? No—he's an adult who doesn't need to be warned to think before he acts," Near's smirk widened. "_You,_ on the other hand…"_

"_Tch. Honestly, a child telling me—a man—to think before I act. The nerve!" Jade scoffed, playfully waving the boy dismissively. "Get out of here, ya brat. Go stack blocks, or whatever you do."_

_Near walked out of the store, his smirk ghosting across his face. Matt and Mello were already well ahead of him, but he was sure he would be fine walking home. As the distance between him and Jade grew, the boy felt an uneasiness rise in his chest at the thought of the man. Still he didn't allow himself to doubt Jade. Jade always kept his promises._

Always_, Near reassured himself._

_-End-_

Near lifted a finger to his eye level. On it was a finger puppet of a miniature Jade that was smiling at him with a well done, almost frightening, imitation of the man's green eyes. He wiggled the finger puppet, making it nod at him, as if reassuring him of troubles.

The boy narrowed his eyes at it. "You better keep that promise," he murmured to it.

* * *

Jade walked back inside the Task Force headquarters, a plastic bag in his hands. Ignoring the odd, frightened stares from the other members, he walked forward to L. He gently laid the bag on the table in front of the calm detective.

"There they are, Kira's tapes," he said. "The station's president got them about a week ago, and in Kira's note he, or she, ordered the tapes to be played today. There are two other tapes that went with the transmission: one for just in case the Task Force and the police heed to their terms, and another for the opposite."

"Very good, Jade," L complimented, already starting to look through the evidence.

Jade nodded in gratitude and sat down on the couch next to Matsuda. He stretched out his arms and folded them behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. Matsuda, and the rest of the NPA officers (plus Light) stared at him with looks of fear and slight anger, at least on Aizawa's part. Jade closed his eyes, twitching with annoyance.

"Hey, look. Last I checked staring is considered rude," he growled slightly. "I'd much prefer it if you talked to me."

There was a slight stunned silence at that. L was continuing his work, not really ignoring what was happening, but figuring that there was no need for him to get into the conversation. Surprisingly, it was Matsuda who ended the awkward silence by poking Jade's neck. Jade, in turn, flinched under the cool finger on his warm skin.

"Easy tiger," he smirked roguishly at Matsuda. "That's one of my sensitive spots. And trust me, you don't want to see the effects of touching that spot. It just might corrupt you."

"Your skin is warm, not cold," Matsuda breathed, either oblivious to the man's flirting or ignoring it.

Jade quirked an eyebrow. "Of course it is."

"O-oh, well," Matsuda smiled, awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "I just thought—"

"No, I am not a vampire," Jade answered automatically. "And don't feel bad about the mistake either, it's happened to me before."

"Oh…well, what about—?"

"Not a zombie either, or a…_Shikabane_, I think it's called?"

Matsuda nodded awkwardly, a little less afraid of Jade, yet still wary.

"Yeah, definitely not either," Jade laughed. "If you were to ask my previous lovers, you'd learn that I'm anything but a corpse."

Soichiro Yagami and Aizawa frowned at the man's vulgarity, but didn't say anything. Mogi, Light (he had decided to ignore the pervert) and Matsuda were just curious about the man's odd…condition.

"So, what are you then?" Light asked hesitantly.

Jade regarded the boy with bored eyes. "Human, just like you. At least, last I checked."

"Last I checked, a human doesn't come back from the dead," Aizawa snapped. "Why were you the one to survive Kira's attack, while Ukita died?"

An emotion glinted in Jade's eyes as he glared coldly back at Aizawa, automatically silencing the man. He stood up from the couch and stepped up to stand in front of Aizawa, the emotion in his eyes being more readable.

_Guilt._

"That's an excellent question," Jade said with a cold, humorless smile on his face. "I've gone through several centuries with this 'gift,' and yet I still don't have the answers. When you figure it all out, tell me would ya?"

_Centuries?! But that would mean that Jade is…immortal_, Light thought, eyes wide as he watched Jade walk out of the room and who-knows-where. _No way, that's impossible…but then again, so is coming back from the dead. Does L know the answers?… Should I even ask?_

"Don't worry, he'll be back," L said to the silence, still examining the tapes. "He always comes back."

After a brief silence, Light decided to ask. "Ryuuzaki, what is Jade's 'gift,' exactly?"

The eccentric detective gave the boy a side-glance, away from looking at the evidence. When he observed the rest of the team, L sighed.

"I guess neither of you will get to work unless you get some answers." L looked over at Watari, "Watari, could you get me tea with ten sugars please?"

When the old man left the room briefly, L turned to the Task Force, his face serious.

"Jade is right, he is human," he explained. "We have had our doctors examine him, but they don't find anything out of the ordinary in his system, except for the fact that when Jade dies, he's only dead for a brief moment, and then everything goes back to life, as if nothing ever happened."

When Watari returned he gave L his tea and resolved to standing behind his charge, who was in his usual crouching position in a chair. Light cringed slightly as L took a sip out of the grainy tea, but continued to listen to him.

"What Jade said about living for several centuries is true, in a way. You see, this is his twentieth life cycle."

"What does that mean?" Mogi asked.

"With that early show, you'd all think that Jade was incapable of dying," L explained. "And that is somewhat true. He is what you'd consider indestructible, in its truest form. He has survived gunshots to his chest and his head, dismembering, disembowelment, internal bleeding, decapitation and anything else you can think of that leads to death. However, this does not mean that he doesn't have his weaknesses. For one, fire, if the blaze is heated enough, will kill him and reduce him to ashes. Once he's ashes, regenerating won't be as easy as with other deaths. So, he reincarnates into another life cycle, which is what happened twenty-three years ago.

"His powers were minimal during his childhood," L continued, his eyes misting with something akin to nostalgia. "He'd get a cut that would heal within seconds. Any broken bone he got would mend in a matter of hours, rather than weeks. This went on until he turned twenty, which is when he got all of his past memories back, and when his power reached its peek.

"The day we discovered his imperviousness to death, it had been during a dangerous case three years ago. One day Jade was held captive by his former lover, who was a serial killer. He was tortured for days, through the 'experiments' his lover wanted to enact on him. When we recovered him, he was pronounced dead, but the next day he awoke with all his wounds healed."

Light couldn't help but notice a slight dark aura that surrounded L when he recalled this case. It must have been seriously tiring for both L and Jade—especially the latter. Light shuddered slightly at the thought of dying so many times, and then coming back to life just to die again. It wasn't exactly a likeable thought.

"After age twenty," L continued with thoughtful, wide dark eyes. "Jade had stopped physically aging. It's not really noticeable right now, but ten—maybe twenty years from now, people around him will start to notice. According to what he told me, his 'Time' just stopped, and it will stay frozen for all eternity, so long as he doesn't have a need to reincarnate."

L finished his explanation sipping on his now cold tea. The whole room was silent as his fellow investigators tried to get this knowledge to sink in. Finally a tired sigh came from Soichiro Yagami as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Ryuuzaki, what you're basically saying is that Jade is immortal," he said.

L thought for a moment. "Yes, that would be the correct term for it."

"But you also said that he could reincarnate," Mogi interjected. "What if he was killed before turning twenty?"

"I once asked him that question. Apparently, it's happened before," L shrugged. "Jade just reincarnates again."

"How do we know all you've told us is the truth?" Aizawa raised an eyebrow skeptically.

Once again L just shrugged. "This is mostly a summation built from my own experience with Jade and all the information he told me. But if you honestly want some truth…"

L glanced at Watari, who nodded. The old man reached inside the pocket in his jacket and produced a faded old picture that had a group of pre-battle soldiers smiling at the camera. It looked like it was during the times of WWII from the style of their uniform. The field in the background also looked like it was from a place in Europe. Watari pointed at a specific soldier who had an arm around another one, who was covered by one of Watari's fingers. His smirk was mischievous and the gleam of his eyes ever so familiar…

"I-is that Graves-san?" Matsuda questioned.

"No," Light said softly, reading the nametag on the young soldier's uniform. "He has a different name in here, 'Justin Malcolm,' but the face is similar, if not the same as Jade."

"Well of course, Light-kun," L replied lightly as Watari put the picture away. "Reincarnation is the rebirth of the soul of the person. The face of that same person doesn't have to be exactly the same with each rebirth. Their names are also different, as are their friends and family, than their previous cycle."

Once again there was silence in the room. Each man was trying to let all this information sink in. L allowed them to have their moment as he stared thoughtfully down at what was left of his tea, a thumb to his mouth.

_I wasn't completely sure at first, but Jade has proven to be immune to whatever power Kira has_, he thought to himself. _Kira no doubt saw what happened and is panicking at the prospect of there being someone he can't affect. And if he panics then he will slip, eventually. It's not really much, but at least it's a start._

"Ryuuzaki?" Light's voice called him out of his musings.

"Yes?"

"I've just had a thought," the boy said. "Is Jade the only one of…his kind?"

If it was possible, L's eyes widened slightly. He suddenly recalled asking that question to Jade before, in a hospital in L.A. three years ago and responded with the same answer he had been given:

"I…don't know."

* * *

Back in the dark living room, Kira folded his cell phone with a sharp sounding "snap." He glared over at Ryuk, who was still smirking with amusement.

"You!" he hissed. "You know something, don't you Shinigami?!"

Ryuk just shrugged, laughing hoarsely. "I don't know what you mean."

Kira snarled, "You knew about that man's frozen lifespan!"

"Oh, _that_," Ryuk smirked cruelly. "Yeah, I knew. I just didn't know what would happen."

The man slammed his fist down on his wooden table. "Dammit!"

"Honestly, Kira-sama, using such coarse language?" a flamboyant male voice made him freeze. "I thought that you were trying to cleanse the filth from this world."

Kira turned around to glare at the new man, who stepped into the dim light, revealing himself. He looked about thirty years of age. He had long blond hair that was tied into a low ponytail. His eyes were a strange shade of amethyst and were covered by clear square rim glasses. His clothes consisted of a beige vest over a white shirt, a pair of brown dress pants and brown shoes. His face was as pale as snow and it looked as if it was carved by the loveliest Angel in the Heavenly hierarchy—or perhaps, by the most wicked Demon to ever be by Lucifer's side, for though it was dazzling in its unearthly beauty, it had a cold countenance that made one shiver with foreboding. Not even the man's warm looking smile could fix the look, for it too seemed to be just a plastic imitation of a genuine smile.

"Altair Stone," Kira spat out disdainfully. He didn't like this man at all; he forgot why he even hired him. "What are you doing here? I haven't even given you orders yet."

Ryuk hummed with bemusement. He hadn't seen this man before. "Kira" must have picked him up while Ryuk was getting his apples. Curious the Shinigami looked up at the space above the odd man's head and hummed some more, grinning some more.

_Another one, huh? Heh, heh._

Altair just hummed a cheerful song and directed his attention to the screen, which had paused on Jade's revival scene on DVR. He joyfully picked up the remote and pressed the "zoom" button on the young man's face, more specifically on his gorgeous green eyes. When the zoom had a bigger view of Jade's profile on the screen, Altair started giggling with a wide, twisted, yet somewhat childlike grin.

_Found you, my dear Justin. At last, I finally found you_, the blond man sang in his head, still giggling on the outside.

Another man walked into the room, who Kira also greeted as an associate. Well, not really. Internally, the man wasn't at all interested in Kira's cause or in Altair's. He secretly loathed the two of them, for two different reasons, and wanted to have them on his table so he could cut off their fragile limbs. But he would do anything to go up against "Lawli-pop" again; so joining Kira was probably the best way. As long as neither Kira nor Altair thought he was capable of a little coup-de-tat, then his plan would go great.

As his glowing, ruby eyes trailed to the image of Jade on the screen, he allowed himself to grin, lifting a finger to lick away any excess jam from his snack in Stone's car.

_Seeing my little jewel again_, Beyond Birthday grinned at Jade's profile, showing sharp canines that made him look feral. He licked his lips, getting a hungry look in his eyes. _Is just an added bonus…_

* * *

Yay! BB and the second OC are here! Yes, they both have an obsession with Jade. And then there's Near, whose feelings are more subtle, but possibly just as intense.

Hm...do I sense a fight on the horizon? XD

If anyone is confused about Jade, feel free to PM me. I'll answer any questions you have.

* * *


	5. Chapter 4

****

Note: Thank you for the corrections, Ashirogi Muto (and for your opinion on Jade as well)!

**Chapter 4:**

When Jade finally walked back to headquarters, it was already late in the evening, at about eight o' clock at the most. As he walked in the room, the entire Task Force briefly stared at him, and then went back to their work, taking care to avoid his gaze. Jade couldn't really tell what they were feeling or thinking about him, but he honestly didn't care. He just walked straight to where L was sitting on the couch.

When he sat down next to him, Jade saw that his friend was licking down an ice cream cone, and was staring at the television screen. He followed the man's gaze and narrowed his eyes. Playing on the TV were the tapes from the supposed Kira. Jade crossed his arms, scowling at the screen. After a while of watching, he glanced at L questioningly.

"¿Así que, les has dicho?"

_So, did you tell them?  
_  
"Sí."

_Yes.  
_  
"¿Cuánto les has dicho?"

_How much did you tell them?  
_  
"Solamente lo que me dijiste, te lo aseguro."

_Only as much as you told me, I assure you.  
_  
"¡Oyé! ¿Dónde está el muchacho?"

_Hey, where's the boy?  
_  
"En casa, con su madre y hermana. Su padre no querria que él permaneciera aquí hasta demasiado tarde."

_At home, with his mother and sister. His father doesn't want him to stay here too late.  
_  
" Que extraño, Estas dejando al sospechoso lejos de tu vista. Eso no es como tu, L."

_How strange, you're letting a suspect out of your sight. That's unlike you, L.  
_  
"…Lo sé."

_I know.  
_  
"Pero la sospecha de que él sea Kira ha disminuido al punto en que creo en su inocencia."

_But the suspicion of him being Kira has gone down to the point that I believe his innocence.  
_  
"¿Entonces, cuál es el problema?"

_Then, what's the problem?  
_  
"…No puedo dejar de pensar que él se encuentra implicado de alguna manera."

_…I can't help but think that he's involved somehow._

Jade hummed softly, and then his lips quirked into a small smile. "So, what do we got?" he asked, shifting the soft conversation's language to Japanese.

"We know now for a fact that this isn't the Kira we've profiled," L explained, gesturing to the TV. "The Kira we know needs only a name and a face. This person just needs a face."

Jade's eyes narrowed. "So, what you're basically saying is that there are two Kiras."

"That would be correct."

"Well, damn. What are we gonna do?"

L didn't answer right away. He kept staring at the screen, licking his ice cream thoughtfully. The Kira on the tapes, or the Second Kira, was obviously a Kira fanatic who had gotten Kira's power—whatever that was. How they got it and when were of no importance to L at the moment. All he wanted to know now was who this Second Kira was before more people were killed.

One of the killer's demands was that the NPA submit and obey Kira—which hopefully wouldn't end up happening. Another was that L would reveal himself and join Kira. He didn't want it to come to that, but that might have to happen in order to keep people alive. Yet it would be dangerous also, because most likely, the Second Kira would kill him anyway, "just in case." Then there was this last demand to "shine the light to a better future," which gave L this uneasy feeling for some reason.

It was so strange though, L would find himself thinking. From the way this person talked, they didn't seem very intelligent enough to make these demands. They had left their evidence all over the package that had the tapes (fingerprints and hair that would be identified immediately), so they must not have thought this whole thing through, not alone. Someone else must be behind the sidelines, giving this person orders and the messages that Kira would send out.

_The original Kira perhaps?_ He thought to himself. _If so, replying to this message as a fake Kira would be too risky, because if the First and Second Kira are in contact with each other, then the Second will be able to tell the fake from a real. In that case, sending a reply as a fake Kira would be out. We'll just have to rely on the physical evidence that was recovered for now._

"We recovered hair and some fingerprints from the package the tapes came in," he replied to Jade's question. "For now, that's what we have."

Jade's eyebrows disappeared under his bangs. "They left evidence? That's just…odd."

"We should try narrowing down the number of suspects. Any ideas?"

Jade hummed as he listened more closely to the tapes. "This person might have a reason for being so fanatical to Kira, could that help?"

L's eyes narrowed down at his cone, which was now empty of ice cream. "There is a 70 percent probability that Kira killed someone who troubled the Second Kira. If that was the case, then it would be natural for the Second Kira to offer their services to the man who 'saved' them."

Jade glanced at the other members of the Task Force, who were all looking through paperwork and files.

"And I'm guessing that everyone's looking through the files of Kira's victims for a connection of some kind," he asked.

L nodded.

Jade bit his lip, suddenly getting a thought. "Could you tell them to narrow the list down to women," he said.

L regarded Jade expectantly, compelling him to continue. "See, here's what I'm thinking: Whenever there's a new popular thing, the majority of the fandom is women or girls," he said. "So, this Second Kira could possibly be a Kira-fangirl, and is probably not afraid to admit it, since he helped her in some way."

His friend put his thumb in his mouth thoughtfully. "That somehow makes a lot of sense. How did you think of that?"

Jade shrugged. "I've seen a lot of fangirls in my life."

L hummed and murmured, "They could also be in show business, since they thought to contact Sakura TV, which conveniently needed ratings. They probably used that information to their advantage."

"And they probably got that information because they have a connection with the media," Jade finished, smiling slightly.

On L's orders, Jade relayed the theory with the Task Force and then joined them on the search. Meanwhile, L continued analyzing the tapes, trying to get rid of this strange feeling in the back of his mind. Something was missing, but what?

_What was it?_

* * *

Light tapped his pen against his desk, a grimace of annoyance on his face. He was staring down at a book that was made for helping him prepare for college entrance exams. Apparently, his work on the Kira investigation was disrupting his schoolwork, so he had to go home at night, rather than stay with the task force late into the night.

That was the excuse his father gave to Ryuuzaki anyway.

He snorted, brushing a lock of hair from his face. Light loved his father, he really did, but the man was awfully protective of him. It could be because L suspected him of being Kira, but still Light couldn't help but feel it was a little ridiculous. He had been doing great with his schoolwork—exceptional even, considering he was out of school a couple of days at a time.

Light thought he should work on the Kira investigation, because the thought of someone like that still on the streets gave him an uneasy feeling. It wasn't because he didn't agree with Kira's cause, because he did—at least at some level. He thought it was a great thing that criminals were getting their just deserts, that at least someone was doing it.

It was Kira's methods that got Light feeling uncomfortable. Whatever means Kira was using to kill, it was making him more Machiavellian rather than Godly. He was basically using fear to get people to join him—he lived by the code: "You have to be feared before you are loved." Light knew for a fact that it wasn't true, because in order for Kira to achieve his goal, he'd have to kill all who got in his way, including the good people he had claimed he wanted to protect.

That included Light's father, the other members of the NPA…

…And L.

That alone was enough to question Kira's intentions. Kira probably did stick to his original intention at first, but he unknowingly (or knowingly) turned into the very thing he seemed to dislike. He became no better than an average serial killer, and that disappointed Light because it proved that Kira's cause was a lost cause. It was one that would put one at a murderer's level and, though Light wanted something to clean up this rotten world, he'd die before he sank to a murderer's level. His pride wouldn't allow it.

And his nobility, or at least the amount of nobility he had, wouldn't allow himself to sit back and watch anyone else's death occur at Kira's hands.

Especially if the next target would be L. In Light's mind, the man—despite his odd quirks and childishness—represented justice as much as his father did. If L were to go down, then Kira would win. And Light hated losing.

Light sighed and got up from his chair, already taking off his shirt. Once he had his pajamas on he walked to his bed and flung himself down, glaring at the ceiling. He couldn't help but wonder about why he wasn't with the Task Force. One would think that him being under suspicion would keep him near L on a twenty-four hour basis. What was L thinking…?

He snorted. The bastard probably didn't even remove the cameras, if Light knew any better.

Just as his eyes got heavy, Light heard his mother talk to him from the other side of the door.

"Light, I forgot to tell you," she said. "Misa called today. She had wondered whether or not you had thought about where your date should be."

Light restrained himself from groaning. The image of an annoyingly, bubbly blonde girl came up in his mind. His memories were a little vague, but apparently they had met in a café at Aoyama, where Misa asked him to go out on a date with her.

He should have gone against all of the etiquette taught to him and refused, but he didn't. Now he was starting to regret it. He did not have time for a girlfriend at this time.

"I'll call her tomorrow, okay Mom," he said. He didn't really intend to call Misa, but he wanted to appease his mother.

"All right," his mother replied before she walked away from his room.

Light sighed and closed his eyes. After a few minutes of relaxing, he found himself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Outside of the Yagami household, a young woman stood on the sidewalk across the street from it. She was wearing a long Goth Lolita dress that swayed with the wind along with her long dyed blond hair. Her wide eyes blinked up at a certain window on the second floor.

Unseen by all except some people, a creature hovered near her shoulder, but the girl didn't mind. It was white and had long arms. It looked at the girl with an expressionless gold eye.

"Misa, I believe we should go," Rem said. "Kira is waiting for us."

Misa blinked and looked up at Rem, and then back at Light's window. "Yes," was her dreamy reply.

With that, Misa walked out of the neighborhood, her loyal Shinigami in tow. The moonlight poured on her body like a shower, making her look innocent and harmless.

If one were to look closely into her eyes, however, they would see a pair of glowing, red orbs.


End file.
